Heel



`Fan. 26, 1937. J. W; COURTE 2,068,657

HEEL I Filed Jan. 29, 1935 Patented Jan. 26, 1937 OFFICE HEEL Application January 29, 1935, Serial No. 3,950

4 claims.

This invention relates to improvements in heels and methods of attaching top lifts to heels.

In shoe repair shops staples are sometimes used to attach top lifts to heels of women's shoes and 5 form effective fastenings for this purpose. The

staples which are ordinarily used for this purpose are provided with legs having oppositely beveled ends extending a substantial distance into the material of the heel below the top lift and, under some conditions, one of the legs of the staple may be defiected outwardly and through the side of the heel, thus seriously damaging and impairing the appearance of the heel. Other dainage, in wear, results from the successive replacements of a number of worn top lifts. The repeated insertion and removal of staples in such replacements damages the material, generally wood, of which the heel is formed, and pieces of wood are sometimes pulled out between the prongs or legs of the staple when the staple is being removed, thus creating a condition which renders it difficult to attach another repair top lift to the heel.

An object of the present invention, accordingly, is to improve the attachment of top lifts to heels in a manner which will overoome the above-mentioned difiiculties. To this end I attach the top lifts by staples each of which has a short leg and a long leg and a bar which is preferably positioned substantially parallel to the edge of the top lift. As illustrated, the long leg extends through the top lift and into the body of the heel while the short leg extends into the top lift but not any substantial distance into the Wood. The points of the staple legs are cut on substantial, oppositely facing bevels, and tend to deflect, when driven, toward the uncut sides of the points. The staple is so positioned in driving that the long leg of the staple is defiected away from the surface of the heel and toward the center of the heel, while the short leg may be defiected slightly toward the surface of the heel.

45 In another aspect my invention comprises the herein-disclosed improved method of attaching top lifts to heels.

Other objects and features of the invention Will appear more fully from the following de- 50 tailed description When read in connection with the accompanying drawing and Will be pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawing, Fig. 1 is a view in side elevation of a shoe and 55 a portion of a machine for inserting staples;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of a shoe heel showing staples driven into the heel; and

Fig. 3 is a view on an enlarged scale of a preferred form of staple for securing top lifts to Wood heels. 5

In the illustrated embodiment of the invention, staples Hi are driven through a top lift I 2 and into a wood heel 14 by a machine of the type disclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 1,016,- 939, granted February 13, 1912 on an applicalu tion filed in the name of William H. Bo-rden, the machine being organized to form a staple having a long and a short leg, as disclosed in an application for United States Letters Patent Serial No. 9,845, filed March 7, 1935, in the name 15 of Fred L. MacKenzie. In machines of this type at staple wire is used and the ends of each length of Wire to be formed into a staple are severed by a mechanism which forms a beveled cut at each end of the Wire. When the staple 20 has been formed by the fastening forming mechanism, the beveled cut ends are inclined in opposite directions, as shown in Fig. 3 of the drawing.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 3 of the drawing, the

staple Ill is formed with a short leg |6 and long 25 leg IS. As stated above, the ends of the staple legs are cut on bevels which, in the formed staple, are oppositely inclined, as clearly shown in Fig. 3. When staples having beveled ends are driven into a heel or other work piece the legs of the staples 30 are deflected to a certain extent in the direction of the bevel. As illustrated the staples ID are driven through the top lift |2 and into the Wood heel M of the shoe 20 with the bars of the staples substantially parallel to the edge of the top lift 35 |2. The beveled cut of the long leg I 8 of the staple Ill extends away from the edge of the top lift 12 and, consequently, when the staple is driven, the leg |8 is defiected away from the surface of the heel l4 and toward the center 40 thereof. The short leg l6 having an oppositely inclined bevel is defiected toward the edge of the top lift 12. This leg, however, is relatively short and ordinarily does not extend through the top lift |2. Consequently, the leg IB will not be deflected toward the surface of the heel |4 sufficiently to penetrate either through the surface of the heel or through the edge of the top lift.

The illustrated machine for inserting the staples UJ is provided with an inside former 22 about which the staples are formed by a downwardly moving outside former 24. A driver 26 is moved downwardly to drive the formed staple through a fastening guiding passage formed in a stationary throat or abutment member 28 against which the shoe 20 is clamped during the staple inserting operation. The machine is also provided with a work support 30 which is moved toward the throat 28 to clamp the shoe. A gage 32 is adjustably secured to the head of the machine by a headed bolt 33 to locate the edge of the top lift E2 and the sides of the heel 14 relatively to the throat 28 and the driver 26 a distance sufcient to insure that the point of the short leg S of the staple l will not penetrate through the sides of the top lift |2 or the heel M. 'I'ne parts of the machine above described are disclosed in the Letters Patent mentioned above to which reference may be had for a more detailed description. The work support 3B is adjustable and may be of the type disclosed in United States Letters Patent No. l,852,152, granted April 5, 1932 on an application filed in the name of Louis G. Dingeldey.

In attaching a repair top lift |2l to a Wood heel l4 the operator removes the worn top lift and the fastenings which secure the top lift to the heel M. The repair top lift 12 is then placed in position on the heel M and the shoe 20 is placed on the support 30 which is moved upwardly to clamp the shoe 20 against the throat 28. The edge of the top lift 2 and the surface of the heel M are located by engagement with the gage 32 which positions the heel and top lift properly relatively to the driver 25. After the shoe has been properly positioned and clamped against the throat 28 the staples lt are driven successively into the work to attach the top lift |2 to the heel M. The long leg l8 of the staple Ill is located with the bevel of its cut end facing toward the exterior of the heel and, consequently, the long leg |8 is deflected toward the center of the heel. The short leg 56 of the staple Ill is deflectedl toward the surface of the heel 14 but the staples are driven into the top lift 12 and the heel |`4 a distance from the edge and sides thereof sufficient to insure that the point of the short leg IG will not penetrate through the edge of the topy lift |2 or the surface of the heel |4.

Although the present invention has been described with particular reference to attaching top lifts to wood heels in connection with repair work,

it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its utility to such work but may be used for other types of work if desired.

I-Iaving thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A shoe heel having a top lift secured to the body of the heel by staples each having a bar substantially parallel to the edge of the top lift and having a long leg extending through the top lift and into the body of the heel and a short leg extending into the top lift, the long leg being inclined away from the surface of the heel and toward the center of the heel.

2. That improvement in methods of attaching top lifts to shoe heels which comprises positioning a top lift upon a shoe heel, locating the bar of a staple having a long leg and a short leg substantially parallel to the edge of the top lift, driving the staple through said top lift and into the body of the heel, and defiecting the long leg of the staple toward the center of the heel during the driving operation.

3. That improvement in methods of attaching top lifts to wood heels which comprises positioning a top lift upon a Wood heel, locating the bar of a staple having a short leg and a long leg substantially parallel to the edge of the top lift, driving the staple through said top lift and into the body of the heel, and defiecting the long leg away from the surface of the heel and toward the center of the heel and deflecting the short leg slightly toward the surface of the heel during the driving operation.

4. A shoe heel having a top lift secured to the body of the heel by staples, each staple comprising a bar, a longer leg and a shorter leg, the points of the legs being beveled on opposite sides of the bar, respectively, the staples being driven with their bars substantially parallel to the peripheral edge of the top lift, and with the unbeveled sides of their longer legs facing toward the center of the top lift, whereby the said longer legs will be defiected toward the interior of the heel and the shorter legs will be defiected toward the periphery of the heel when driven.

JOHN W. COUR'I'ER. 

